A time to give back

In addition to opportunities to give back during the holidays, St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church collects monthly donations in their outreach alcove.

It’s often during the holidays that people feel the urge to give back to their local communities, be it through food drives, events or nearby organizations. Check out this list of volunteering opportunities below to find out where you can help during this Thanksgiving season.

► Crestline Cumberland Presbyterian Church, 605 Hagood St.

While food drives are common, Jan Overton with Crestline Cumberland Presbyterian Church said not many consider the need for cooking oil. To compensate, Overton said, the church will be collecting cooking oil throughout November in conjunction with Grace Episcopal Church.

Crestline Cumberland also assembles school lunches for about 15 students at Restoration Academy each week. Overton said community members are welcome to help pack the lunches on Sundays, and monetary donations are welcome.

► Mountain Brook Baptist Church, 3631 Montevallo Road

Mountain Brook Baptist Church will be collecting canned foods for a Thanksgiving Meal in a Bag in its office through mid-November as part of a holiday Thanksgiving food drive. Stove Top stuffing, corn, green beans and a pie filling are welcome. Jo Wills with Mountain Brook Baptist said the donations will be taken down to Marion on Nov. 16. The church also will begin collecting Christmas box donations starting the week of Thanksgiving. Those gifts will be taken down to Marion on Dec. 16.

► Mountain Brook Community Church, 3001 U.S. 280

During the Thanksgiving season, Mountain Brook Community Church partners with Christian Service Mission in Birmingham to provide holiday meals to families in several inner-city communities through Baskets of Kindness, said Executive Director of Ministries Ralph Bishop. Baskets of Kindness gathers volunteers to pack and deliver meals to families in the area a few days before Thanksgiving.

The church is also a collection site for Operation Christmas Child, through which volunteers purchase small gifts for children around the world. The gifts are then packaged into shoeboxes and taken to a collection site. Bishop said MBCC collected about 30,000 shoeboxes for distribution last year from other churches and volunteers.

► St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, 2 Xavier Circle

St. Francis Xavier will be collecting food as part of its monthly food drive, which culminates on the first Sunday of every month. Usually, nonperishable foods are collected, although baby items are sometimes requested. Everything is then organized at the church and sent to the Catholic Center of Concern to be distributed.

Father Robert Sullivan said community members are able to drop off items all month long, and starting the week of Thanksgiving the church will also begin collecting gifts for its Angel Tree drive.

► St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 3775 Crosshaven Drive

As part of its monthly outreach, St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church will be collecting food items for local families for the Thanksgiving holiday. Thanksgiving ingredients are welcome as are volunteers who are able to cook a meal for families in need.

Community members are also encouraged to check the church’s Outreach Alcove, where St. Stephen’s collects different items each month to be donated. Items have included peanut butter or other nonperishable foods, school supplies and toiletry items.

Did we miss something? Send an email to lcoon@starnespublishing.com to add your opportunities.